Creativity in Video Gaming Technology Presentation by Horace Flournoy

Overview Video Gaming Industry Today Brief History of Inventive Products Historical Errors in the industry Creativity in the Next Generation Basic Keys to Success

Video Gaming Industry Overview The Innovators Dilemma - by C.M. Christensen Improved over the economic downturn Industry growth for the foreseeable future Huge following and fan base that is only growing (with time)…

Industry Overview (cont.) Video game sales exceeded the movie industry's annual box office draw last year by $1 billion production costs ranging from $1 million to $8 million

Present Success Stories Sony, a major record label and movie producer, got nearly 60% of its profit last year from sales of hardware and software for its latest- generation video game console, the PlayStation 2. Electronic Arts (The biggest independent game maker) - brings in more than $2 billion in revenue a year and has been added to the Standard & Poor's 500 index.

Present Success Stories (cont.) Barnes & Noble -GameStop, the video game retailer of which it owns 60%, contributed as much to profit as its banner bookstores. Without video games, Barnes & Noble would have reported a loss. The graduating Student studying Video Games!!

Brief History of Inventive Products (Sustaining Technologies) "Sustaining" technology improvements are those which seem to be in line with the needs of the current customers. Current customers key for video game industry (vs. Sega Dreamcast) Current sometimes does not mean most innovative. Nevertheless- gave the gamers what they wanted.

Atari 2600 most popular videogame console of its day and it was available until 1990 on the market longer than any other system in history Well marketed, Price ok for the time

Nintendo Entertainment System released in 1985 Average graphics at the time Almost every developer Simple, cartridge-based system Not overly engineered, easy to use Innovative products – Light gun, power pad

Nintendo Gameboy Portable Game play Affordable prices Easy operation

Sony Playstation Easy Programming Excellent Marketing Great Graphics Capabilities Market/Consumers Ready Average Price Huge Developer Support

Historical Errors in the Gaming Industry (Disruptive Technologies) "Disruptive" technology developments are those which don't immediately seem to meet the established customer's demands Most Video Game system disruptive technologies – Consumers not ready for innovation, price, etc. Oftentimes better technology at the time but with less support (vs. NES = more support, less capable HW)

(Disruptive Technologies) Christensen writes that even the best-managed companies, in spite of their attention to customers and continual investment in new technology, are susceptible to failure no matter what the industry. Sega, Atari, 3DO, now in some ways Nintendo

Magnavox Odyssey Introduced in 1972 at a price of $100. Players had to keep score by themselves because the machine was incapable of doing so Lack of Marketing + Overpriced for the time.

NEC Turbografx-16 First system to have a CD player attachment. Developers/Consumers not ready for CD The console lost out in the market to the Sega Genesis, due partially to a smaller game selection and a less powerful 8- bit CPU.

Sega Dreamcast Fairly successful console Hardware Costs too much for company Launched too late (or too early) – Between product cycles Innovative 3-D capabilities Not Marketed well First system with online game play – but customers not ready

Price Issues Price of the popular video game has remained about the same for about twenty years Profits are made by selling the games* Overprice Consoles never made a significant impact – Sega CDX 3DO REAL: VERY strong system with movie like graphics and a scary price.

But you Cant Dictate the Market… Both 3DO and Panasonic were trying to make a profit off the system while most other companies rely on software sales.*see above fact System Price: $ DO RIP ( )

Creativity in the Next Generation Online Gaming with file sharing Console as media center, complete with ability burn DVDs, play MP3 music, and record TV. Will Integrate Digital Pictures, Movies, etc. Portability and Wireless communication between devices (eg. PSP and PS3) The technologies that are needed to address the social and environmental challenges associated with economic growth can best be developed.

User Interface Design Ability to wirelessly communicate with the console using a combination of controllers and voice activated commands Console will be able to detect facial expressions (ex. Eye toy) Will consumers be Ready??

Ideas for Next Generation Networked power will be able to utilize a next-generation Internet connection to take advantage of Parallel Processing Will be able to serve as cheap supercomputers (eg. Networked PS2s)

Basic Key to Success Playability and Game play How fun are the games? And Price Innovation only good when these two above factors are met Timing, timing, timing! (Innovative solutions can indeed have very bad timing). Play By the Industrys Rules!!